Local residents and officials agree that these signs are recurring with increasing intensity in Kholtoro-Haramosh village, a village off the road between Skardu and Gilgit.

The people of the village said that they had sent a letter to the government, detailing the risks. Stressing the need for urgent measures for the safety of villagers, the letter said that the village, which has a population of about 300 people, might be completely swept away by a landslide.

Early last year, a massive landslide swept away Attabad, a small village in Hunza, killing nearly 20 people. The landslide also blocked River Hunza, cutting off 25,000 people living in the upper reaches of the Hunza Valley.

A district government official said that after receiving the letter, the government had asked the Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority to conduct a survey to assess the situation.

He said that the disaster management authority had conducted the survey with the help of a non-profit organisation and submitted its report to the government. The report also highlighted the fear that a landslide may sweep away the village’s main water channel, a school, several fields, trees and around 31 houses.

The report also said that the house of an adviser of the Gilgit-Baltistan government might also be swept away.

“Apart from safety measures, food needs be stocked in adequate quantities to meet any eventuality,” the report recommended.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/160364/attabad-in-the-making-another-village-under-threat/